Christians and Strippers protest one another in Ohio

Warsaw
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Ohio Strippers tired of Christians protesting them turned the tables and set up their own picket lines Sunday morning. For four years it's been sinners vs saints in Warsaw and the girls are fed up with judgement being passed by churchgoers.

She is the "Devil with the Blue Dress On" and she is picketing Sunday services in the town of Warsaw at the New Beginnings Ministries Church. The adult entertainers have been congregating weekends in protest of those who protest them and their choice of employment.

But Tommy George says it's up to America to decide which is which and who is who in the line-up of this ultimate match-up. On the other-hand, Pastor Dunfee says God already has chosen who are the sinners and who are saints.

"Tom George is a parasite, a man without judgment," Dunfee said. "The word of Jesus Christ says you cannot share territory with the devil."

The battle has played out in the parking lot of George's strip club, the Fox Hole, every weekend for four years. Dunfee and his followers have set up watch at George's business with signs, cameras and bullhorns to drive customers away. They have been accused of videotaping license plates and posting them online.

George said the dancers were fed up with the tactics of Dunfee and his flock and have finally accepted his invitation to come to church.

It might not be quite what Dunfee expected, however, as the women have come wearing see-through shorts and toting Super Soakers. They bring lawn chairs and yesterday they grilled hamburgers, drank Monster energy drinks and ate corn on the cob. They sat in front of the church and waved at passing cars but largely ignored the congregation behind them.

George said he unsuccessfully sued the church several years ago, claiming a violation of his constitutional rights. With no other avenues to pursue, he said the turnabout is fair-play and the protesters are here to stay.

When asked how long this protest of a protest would continue, George said "When these morons go away, we'll go away, the great thing about this country is that everyone has a right to believe what they want."

The New Beginnings congregation members have tried to ignore the presence of the scantily-clad women, other than an occasional member who has stopped to pray with the strippers for their salvation, a move for which the ladies have been grateful.

Greg Flaig is executive director of the Ohio Owners Coalition, a group of show-bar and club owners. He called the women's protest extraordinary, saying he's never heard of anything like it in the U.S.

George told reporters his club operates within the law. Dunfee said it does not and that it must close at midnight instead of its regular 2 or 3 a.m. Coshocton County Prosecutor Bob Batchelor said Friday that he, the sheriff and the city prosecutor are "aware of the situation."

The strip bar employees say they have families to support on the tips they make. Some claim to earn $2,000 per week.

"These church people say horrible things about us," said dancer, Gina Hughes, an employee of the Fox Hole. "They say we're home-wreckers and whores. The fact of the matter is, we're working to keep our own homes together, to give our kids what they need."

Dunfee said it's not that simple. He said he consistently offers the women help, a chance at redemption.

"I tell them, 'I will put a roof over your heads, and your bills will be paid, and your children's bellies will be full,'" he said. Yet they don't come inside.

The first few weeks, Dunfee piped the sermon outside. But that "agitated" them, he said, and made them dance in the streets. He said their presence has united his church members and reinvigorated their mission to shut down the club. "They have now seen the evil firsthand," Dunfee said. "This has just made us stronger."

George laughed at that notion. "They're just mad," he said, "because their wives won't let them come to my club."